Review: The Flash Vol. 1- Move Forward
Quick Summary
Pros: Most of the book is exciting and has fun action. The entire volume helps reintroduce the Flash within the context of this new continuity. The final few chapters give a tantalizing prelude into the next story arc. The artwork is gorgeous and contains some wonderfully structured pages.
Cons: The book’s main conflict feels a bit generic.
Overall: This is a solid start to a series that is already showing a lot of potential. The entire narrative is entertaining and contains everything readers could want from the first volume in a new comic series. Plus, the beautiful artwork nearly makes the book worthwhile on its own. There are points where the conflict fails to stand out as something memorable but it never ceases to be entertaining. Anyone looking for a perfect point to start reading the Flash should look no further than this volume.
Story
The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, is a great way to kick off a new era in the Flash’s history. It explains who the Flash is in this new reality, places him in a dicey situation, and then begins dealing out hints as to what the next few story arcs will focus on. This entire process lets readers know what this particular series is and what it will be, which is about all you can ask for from an introductory piece. The only problem is that the main conflict feels a bit basic and ends up being forgettable. However, as a whole, this volume still does a great job setting up a new series and having some fun while doing so.
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The main conflict in The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward centers around Barry Allen’s friend, Manuel, who, due to government testing, is able to regenerate his body infinitely and is even able to cut pieces of his body off and create clones of himself. However, his clones are unstable and are willing to get violent in order to find someone who can cure their condition. This puts them in conflict with Flash on a few occasions, which, ultimately, leads to their defeat by the volume’s conclusion.
This conflict is fun and even has the Flash at the end of his ropes a few times. However, it isn’t really that memorable in any way, shape, or form. Mob Rule is a tragic villain with a unique problem but none of this is really explored in a way that is more than just briefly meaningful. It is enjoyable and even exciting to see play out but, in the end, the entire encounter feels just a bit generic.
Luckily, Move Forward has a lot more going for it than a single conflict. Over the course of this book, a lot of work is done in setting up the premise for the rest of the series to follow. Some of this is pretty basic, like reintroducing Barry Allen, introducing his new love interest, and adding a complication to that love interest. However, some of it is more significant, like the new dimension Barry’s powers take on and the world of possibilities that these heightened powers open up.
Then, the final few chapters increase the interest levels even further. One has Barry face off against Captain Cold, wherein it is revealed that Cold now has his cold-powers directly infused into his being. These sets up a future confrontation between Flash and the Rogues, which is always a fun thing to see play out. Another has Barry travel into the Speed Force itself and learn more about how his connection to this mysterious entity is wreaking havoc in his life. This places him right into a situation where Gorilla Grodd is present. Both of these plot points seem to be directly setting up the next story arcs, which already look like they are going to be great.
(spoilers end here)
Art
The artwork in Move Forward is great and is one of the most significant positives in this collection. Francis Manapul does a fantastic job on nearly every page of this book. Characters look great, locations are drawn with creativity, and the colors make everything stand out even further. The artwork also seriously increases the quality of the storytelling through a series of thematically relevant page structures, all of which also manage to look visually stunning even without context. However, with context, the interplay of artwork and writing makes this a more enjoyable reading experience. In the end, this is a good looking book that almost everyone should be able to enjoy.
Continuity
The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward starts the Flash New 52 series. This means that this is the first volume in a brand new continuity, so there are not many references to previous books or specific character histories.
The story started here is continued in The Flash Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution (Review).